Polija Latvijā

Ladies and Gentlemen,

For several months, the internal situation in Belarus has remained very tense. Belarusian authorities perpetrate the systematic violation of basic freedoms.

In this context it has to be noted with sorrow that people belonging to the Polish minority have also become the target of the hostile activities of Belarusian authorities. In recent days prominent representatives of the Polish minority in Belarus have been detained. The chief of the Union of Poles in Belarus Andzelika Borys, the journalist Andrey Pochobut and the principal of the Polish school in Brest Anna Panisheva have been arrested. The Union of Poles in Belarus is an organization that is not engaged in political life. The criminal charges brought against Poles in Belarus refer to the alleged stirring up of ethnic and national hostility. Because of this, the activists are facing a risk of being sentenced to many years of imprisonment. These charges are absurd and are not substantiated by facts. The activities of Belarusian authorities are a pure harassment and are aimed at preventing the possibility to exercise the rights of the Polish minority even though Belarus committed to respect them within the UN and OSCE framework.

The fact that the repressive actions of Belarusian authorities are directed this time at the activists of the Polish minority in Belarus, another group of people who are not politically engaged, proves once again that the situation in respect of human rights in this country is systematically worsening. The purpose of its activities is to cultivate Polish culture and traditions, to support Polish education and studying Polish language. These activities are not politically rooted.

The behaviour of the authorities of Belarus is even more surprising as it undermines the centuries-old Belarusian tradition of tolerance and the multicultural character of Belarus. Furthermore, it stands in contradiction with the international legal commitments undertaken by the country. In the framework of the Treaty on Neighbourly Relations and Friendly Cooperation, Belarus and Poland committed to mutually respect the international standards of protection and the rights of national minorities. These principles and standards are further secured by international agreements and conventions, and Poland fulfils its commitments.

In our view, this is not the end of provocative and aggressive actions of the authorities of Belarus against the Polish minority. This is why I encourage everyone to express their support for unlawfully harassed Polish activists in Belarus and to join the demand for the immediate release of the people detained. You can follow the situation concerning Poles in Belarus on social media by using the hashtag: #FreePolesInBelarus,  #WolniPolacyNaBialorusi.

Yours sincerely,

Monika Michaliszyn

Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to the Republic of Latvia